OTTAWA – Arts and culture organizations will now be required to commit in writing to providing a workplace free of harassment and sexual misconduct in order to receive federal funding, Heritage Minister Melanie Joly declared Wednesday. Joly billed the new…

VANCOUVER – Not enough companies have comprehensive substance-use policies and those that provide them offer inadequate measures to help struggling employees, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction says in a report aimed at bringing awareness to workplace practices…

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – A cabinet minister in Newfoundland and Labrador has been asked to step aside while an independent review looks into allegations of harassment against him, Premier Dwight Ball said in a statement Thursday. Ball said in the brief…

OTTAWA – A former pilot is asking the Canadian Human Rights Commission to resurrect her “lifelong dream” to fly for a major airline – an ambition she abandoned five years ago after she was allegedly discriminated against by an Air…

HALIFAX – A Halifax man accused of hurling a vulgar slur at a female reporter during a live broadcast has been referred to Nova Scotia’s restorative justice process. Nash John Gracie, 25, was charged with public mischief and causing a…

WINNIPEG – Elected councillors in Manitoba face tougher sanctions for bullying and harassment in the workplace. Municipal Relations Minister Jeff Wharton says a review of current laws is being done with the aim of beefing up rules and penalties. Municipalities…

OTTAWA – Liberal MP Francis Drouin says an allegation has been made against him following an incident at the party’s convention in Halifax this weekend. Drouin, a 34-year-old MP from eastern Ontario, was described earlier this year as a rising…

HALIFAX – Justin Trudeau and Kent Hehr, a former minister who resigned from the prime minister’s cabinet over allegations of inappropriate conduct with women, were among the Liberals who attended a sexual harassment training session Saturday. The hour-long session, which…

Jennifer Lynne Semenec died far from her home in North Bay, Ont., at the hands of a veteran with PTSD who had said he wouldn’t be “another soldier who falls through the cracks” of treatment. As Semenec’s children and sister…

Police say the discovery of thousands of photos on work computers have led to child pornography charges against an Alberta Children’s Services employee. The Internet Child Exploitation unit says a 60-year-old man was arrested last week in Leduc, just south…

QUEBEC – A Liberal member of the Quebec legislature under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct has left caucus. Yves St-Denis has represented the riding of Argenteuil in the Laurentians region since 2014. According to a Cogeco Nouvelles report, St-Denis is…

NANAIMO, B.C. – A British Columbia judge has stayed assault charges against two Mounties accused of pepper spraying a man in custody while proceedings against a third officer are set to go ahead in the fall. Provincial court Judge Ronald…

TORONTO – Construction workers, building security guards and cleaners under government contracts would receive a “fair” wage under legislation Ontario’s governing Liberals introduced Tuesday and hope to pass before the June provincial election. The new legislation – called the Government…

CALGARY – Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has put out a call for proposals aimed at dealing with defence and security threats. Sajjan was at the University of Calgary to announce the first 16 proposals identified as a priority under the…

VANCOUVER – A Chilliwack school trustee is facing a human rights complaint for controversial comments he has made about gender identity and sexual orientation. The B.C. Teachers’ Federation and Chilliwack Teachers’ Association allege in their joint complaint that trustee Barry…

The pain would have been excruciating for two female black bears found in Waterton Lakes National Park after the Kenow Mountain wildfire tore through the rugged mountain landscape last September. One was found lying on its back with severe third-degree…

TORONTO – In a world where actor Mark Wahlberg can get $1.5 million to reshoot a movie scene while co-star Michelle Williams gets only $1,000 for the same gig, it’s clear pay scales are sometimes seriously unbalanced. Some government initiatives,…

HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal has overturned a provincial human rights board decision that said an injured man’s legally prescribed medical marijuana must be covered by his union insurance plan, marking a significant setback for cannabis advocates.…

REGINA – A nurse who was fined $26,000 for criticizing the quality of care her grandfather received in long-term care has lost her appeal of the penalty. The Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association imposed the fine on Carolyn Strom of Prince…